Chapter 11
As an experienced hunter, this was a situation that made him want to scream in horror.
Even generously assuming he could last two days without food.
Water was a different story.
Dehydration triggered a life-or-death warning signal. A human would die in just three days.
Moreover, inside a gate, various factors caused heavy sweating. Without water, death was certain.
"Team Leader, what if there's a casualty inside?"
"Th-there's no way! Jeong Hamin himself just said it! Low-floor Chaos Gates spit people out if there's danger of death!"
"No precedent doesn't mean it can't happen. Chaos Gates are pure chaos!"
"D-damn it!"
Team Leader Yuneobyeon hurriedly made a call. It was a good thing the lobby was nearly empty; otherwise, crowd control would've been a nightmare.
The desk staff rushed off somewhere too.
Now, only three remained in the lobby: Seo Boseok, Yuneobyeon, and Jeong Hamin.
"……."
Seo Boseok Hunter was the only one with calm eyes amid the growing commotion. Jeong Hamin spoke to him.
"Aren't you worried? He's your acquaintance, right, Senior?"
"……."
"Everyone's freaking out……."
Seo Boseok remained stoic.
"This could blow up into a real disaster……."
Ding!
?!
[Floor 1.]
In that instant, the elevator doors slid open.
A leg extended through the cracked opening.
"……?!?!?!"
With all eyes in the lobby on him, Seo Wonseok walked out.
Fanfare blared from the electronic board.
STAND / NAME / TIME
NEW! 1ST / Seo** / 60’00” SSS
Achieved continuous kill of 373 monsters!!
The sparse crowd meant a muted reaction.
Team Leader Yuneobyeon's phone shattered against the marble floor with a crack. Jeong Hamin's narrowed eyes widened like saucers.
"How was it?"
Only Seo Boseok smiled faintly.
"Tough."
Seo Wonseok casually wiped under his nose.
"How……?!"
Jeong Hamin was dumbfounded.
Seo Wonseok glanced at him, dredging up the past.
'That Jeong Hamin guy? Later on, he's the traitor who sells out Korean hunters' personal info to Japan.'
He considered just walking away.
But types like that stuck even harder if ignored, like burrs.
He'd minimize record disclosure with the Eternal Pact Contract, but.
Personal tracking couldn't be blocked by a pact.
Thus, Seo Wonseok offered the most plausible gate-clearing secret he could muster.
"I survived by repeatedly splitting and swallowing slimes."
"……? Slime fluids cause stomach bleeding?"
"Whenever blood pooled, I just swallowed it down."
This time, even Seo Boseok looked rattled.
No need to mention Team Leader Yuneobyeon and Jeong Hamin.
"……Pardon? Th-then the continuous kills!"
"Digestion stalled, then intestinal function suddenly kicked in, processing everything at once, it seems."
"……????????"
* * *
Han Biyeol rolled his shoulders as he stepped out of the elevator.
"My back's killing me……."
Even amid exhaustion, he ground his teeth.
He'd looped the second floor endlessly, but never reached his target.
Spending half a day solo in a gate—even a low-rank one—left him utterly drained.
Han Biyeol decided to clock out and try again tomorrow.
Scanning the lobby with that resolve.
"Where the hell is that bastard."
Jeong Hamin was nowhere.
Not that they were chummy, but the guy treated him well as senior.
"……? What's that punk doing over there."
He spotted Jeong Hamin brooding in a dim corner, face clouded like a storm.
"Hey."
"Ah, y-yes. Senior. You're back……."
Dull eyes slowly regained focus.
"What happened while I was gone?"
"What happened…… something did happen……."
Jeong Hamin acted like he'd seen a ghost.
"Senior……."
"Get to the point."
"What you said might actually be true……."
"What the hell are you talking about!"
Despite Han Biyeol's irritation, Jeong Hamin stayed pale and mute.
Suppress slime digestion, then dump stomach acid for continuous kills? Unbelievable.
Jeong Hamin wasn't dumb enough to buy it wholesale.
Seo Wonseok intended to hide his strategy completely—meaning he'd never reveal his awakening ability.
Drastically limiting record disclosure supported that hypothesis.
-I want to use a contract imbued with the Eternal Pact.
-……Right now?
-Yes. It has to be now to matter. Announce my record to the guilds, but keep the name anonymous. Penalty for disclosure proportional to the breach.
-?!
Seo Wonseok had drafted the Eternal Pact Contract right after his record—crafted from refining a single Chaos Gate, unbreakable no matter what.
'My lips are sealed too!'
Jeong Hamin, roped in as a witness in the lobby, would face penalty for spilling.
As dictated by the contract's master (A).
Jeong Hamin yanked at his cheeks with both hands, mumbling through sobs.
"It fits."
"What does?!"
"What you said fits, Senior……."
A hunter with instant-kill potential from some mysterious power.
The image born of misunderstanding was solidifying.
* * *
Sizzle.
The sound of meat grilling was like a drizzle—soaking the heart.
Gulp.
My niece Naeuni clutched her training chopsticks, swallowing hard. Even at four, she knew hanwoo on sight.
"Dig in."
"I'll eat well!"
"Naeuni, blow on it first."
"Ah! Uncle, cool it for me!"
I smiled, huffing on a piece before placing it on her side plate. She ate with chubby-cheeked gusto.
'Is this what they mean by getting full just watching?'
Part of it was my appetite fleeing after choking down something inedible.
As I watched Naeuni fondly, brother spoke up.
"That slime story earlier was bullshit, right?"
Questioning my "strategy."
"Obviously."
I shrugged toward the A-rank hunter slicing meat beyond the exhaust hood.
"Total lie."
"It doesn't actually shave years off your life or anything…… right?"
"Not living so recklessly that a slime cuts my lifespan."
"Good to hear."
The scissors snipped more vigorously.
Relieved, it seemed.
"Anyway……."
Brother's gaze drifted to the knife on the table—Blood Shadow, his gift to me—propped against the edge.
"Wasn't the blood groove empty before?"
"Yeah, it was."
"……Then what's that."
I grinned and picked up Blood Shadow.
Drawing a dagger at the dinner table wasn't ideal. But missing the brag moment would've been a shame.
I flicked the substance filling the groove with my knuckle.
Wobble.
Jelly-like texture.
"Chaos Gate hidden reward."
Hidden reward.
The prize for the first hunter to achieve the gate's top result.
Once claimed, no one else could get it from that gate.
'Unless the owner lists it in the Hunter Store.'
This squishy red blob belonged solely to me—as long as I didn't sell it.
Which I had zero intention of.
Fall for its unassuming looks and sell cheap…….
'Shiver.'
I might kick through the ceiling in rage.
It was that valuable. Hard to believe it came from an E-grade Chaos Gate.
'Not entirely unreasonable, though.'
That nameless code gate.
No mortal danger, but top-record difficulty rivaled B-grade.
……Hopefully not.
Snip.
Brother's scissors cut through my reverie, slicing meat to Naeuni-bite size.
"……Isn't that a slime?"
"Yep."
But not just any slime!
"A Red Slime."
"Red Slime……?"
First he'd heard of it.
'Ah, right.'
I'd spilled future knowledge. Kept forgetting this timeline was the past.
It'd debut years from now, shaking the hunter ecosystem. But.
'No one knows yet.'
Now it's mine.
I explained to brother, grilling diligently while eyeing my status window.
◈ Retains standard slime traits, plus storage function and skin application.
◈ Capacity grows with fed blood; limit unknown.
◈ Rumored performance boost with owner's blood. Truth unverified?!
Brother looked ambivalent after reading.
"Not trying to rain on your parade or anything."
"Doesn't seem great?"
"Nah, it does. But…… the performance feels meh for the cost."
He placed a perfectly grilled short rib on my plate, continuing.
"And above all, doesn't seem super useful for someone anemic."
Sharp observation.
On paper, it didn't scream satisfaction for the effort.
'Same reaction as when Red Slimes first dropped.'
I learned of them when their value skyrocketed.
Before true potential surfaced, they were ignored.
'Better to show than tell a hundred times.'
I grabbed a raw piece.
"Hey! Cook it first! Anemia or not, raw meat……!"
What do you take me for, brother?
"……Watch."
Dripping blood from the meat soaked into Blood Shadow.
Thump!
The Red Slime twitched.
I deliberately dropped a hanwoo piece; it seized the gap, gulping it down.
"One piece of meat stored."
I touched my fingertip to the Red Slime.
The next instant.
Shlorp shlorp shlorp shlorrrrrrp.
As it twisted like burdock root around my hand, I said,
"Black glove."
It spread thin across my palm, transforming into a black glove.
"Whoa! Uncle's hand turned black!"
"……!!"
No foreign sensation. Felt like bare skin.
I clenched and unclenched my fist a few times, then glanced at brother.
His stunned gaze pierced the smoky haze, fixed on my face.